1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to tree harvesting and, more particularly, to a system for cutting and transporting pulpwood trees upon a fragile terrain so as to have a dispersed and minimal impact on the terrain.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the usual harvesting of pulpwood, selected trees are cut from the ground, loaded as full-length logs onto conventional trucks, and transported over roads to a pulp mill for processing. Generally, several persons are required on the ground to operate chain-type power saws for cutting the trees, wheeled loading vehicles are maneuvered over the ground to drag the trees across the ground and load the cut trees onto the trucks, and the trucks are driven over rudimentary roads at the site where the trees are harvested until reaching public roads. Additionally, storing, sorting, and partial processing of the trees may take place at the harvesting site, requiring additional contact with the ground by operating personnel, wheeled vehicles, and cut trees.
However, in many remote areas which produce trees usable as pulpwood, the ground is not suitable for these conventional methods. For example, in much of Canada and some parts of the United States, the ground surface consists of a layer of peat of variable thickness over a sublayer of clay. As a result, during much of the year, the ground surface becomes a black muck making travel and storage difficult and making the fragile vegetation and soil vulnerable to tramping feet or rotating wheels of heavy vehicles. Since the prior art does not suggest an acceptable way to harvest pulpwood upon such a ground surface, those pulpwood producing areas having such ground conditions are not being regularly and economically harvested.